https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Sombala_KumarSombala Kumar - Revision history2026-10-29T08:06:01ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sombala_Kumar&diff=536567&oldid=prevEloyNoble34: added a biography2025-08-26T13:15:54Z<p>added a biography</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>[[File:Sombala Kumar at Jaipur Literature Festival 2023.jpg|thumb | 220x124px | right | Sombala Kumar at Jaipur Literature Festival 2023]]<br />
{{Short description|Indian Dhrupad Singer}}<br />
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{{notability|bio|date=January 2018}}<br />
{{mfn|date=August 2025}}<br />
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'''Sombala Kumar''' is a [[Dhrupad]] vocalist of India. She studied with [[Zia Fariduddin Dagar|Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar]], a singer of the 19th generation of the dynasty of Dagar Gharana. She also studied with [[Zia Mohiuddin Dagar|Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar]].<br />
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== Career ==<br />
Kumar first studied from Shri. M.D. Raje and Shri. M.K. Kwathekar of Khandwa. Sombala Kumar holds a master's degree in Classical Music from Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University, Sagar ([[Madhya Pradesh|M.P.]]), which she topped upon graduation. Thereafter, she got a scholarship for four years from Ustad Allaudin Khan Sangeet Academy, Bhopal to learn Dhrupad. Thereupon she took her ''taleem '' in Dhrupad singing from Ustaad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and Ustaad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. She worked in musicals for theatre in the early stages for her career. In the musical ''Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein'' she was noticed and commended by several eminent artists for taking ''gamak'', a very difficult vocal instrument, in the absence of a pakhawaj. She was recognised by [[SPIC MACAY]] and [[All India Radio]] as a top grade artist. She was also the first woman Dhrupad artist to perform in Bhopal. Sombala Kumar has been a visiting fellow and visiting professor of Voice Culture and Dhrupad at [[Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya|Indira Kala Sangeet University, Khairagarh]], which she left on 31 July 2023. Sombala Kumar now runs a [[Gurukula]] in [[Pune]].<br />
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==Personal life==<br />
Sombala Kumar is married to Pakhawaj maestro and top grade artist (certified by All India Radio and SPIC MACAY) Prithviraj Kumar. They have one daughter, Ananya Jha, who is a lawyer. <br />
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== Awards and accolades ==<br />
In 2017, Sombala Kumar rejected her nomination for the Padma Shri. <br><br />
{{Quote box<br />
| quote = <big>'They [Government of Chhattisgarh] told me that they were nominating me for Padma Shri. No! Who are the people who hand out these awards? Do they know music? Can they sing? How can I accept appreciation from people who have no idea about my field?<br />
- Sombala Kumar'</big><br />
}}<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
*https://www.proquest.com/docview/1367661849/85D82B2B5B684880PQ/2<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Sombala}}<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Hindustani singers]]<br />
[[Category:Dagarvani]]<br />
[[Category:Women Hindustani musicians]]<br />
[[Category:Indian women classical singers]]<br />
[[Category:Singers from Madhya Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Women musicians from Madhya Pradesh]]<br />
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]</div>EloyNoble34